Sickle
by MeGkAtHeRiNe
Summary: A child is a gift; a blessing. Heartbreak is always the first reaction when you find out there's something wrong.
1. Chapter 1

"Chloe are you even listening to me?"

The brunette girl quickly nodded her head, looking up to her mother that stood before her. "Yes I am, I promise."

Emily let out a sigh, rubbing her fingers over the slightl wrinkles in her forehead. "Do you understand how bad this is?" Her eyes hardened on her daughter. "You and Morgan suspended?"

"I told her not to follow me, mom!"

"Chloe Elizabeth!" Emily shook her head. "This is not ok. You pushed another child."

The brown eyed girl looked wide-eyed to her mother. "Morgan did too, mom!"

Emily glared at the ten year old. "She's five, Chloe. She did what you did because she looks up to you."

Chloe gave a pout. "He pushed me first, ya' know."

The mother of three took her hands from her hips and crossed her arms over her ample breasts. "You don't get it. That boy could have gotten seriously hurt."

Chloe looked up to her mother. "I'm sorry."

"No television or Rini's house. Two weeks."

The ten year old frowned, crossing her arms. "Whatever."

Emily's dark eyes rolled at the sound of her daughter's huff before looking to her youngest. "Morgan, no toys for a couple days. You got me?"

The mini Snow White nodded her head, munching on an apple slice. "'Kay mommy."

Before the forty year old had the chance to speak again she heard the front door open. "Chlo you watch Morgie for me, ok? I need to go speak with your father."

"Mmhmm."

Emily quickly took off her heels and made her way into the kitchen, finding her husband setting down his briefcase on the kitchen counter. "Hey," she sighed. "You sure got here a lot faster than I thought you would."

Hotch looked to the younger woman. "She actually pushed a child?"

The brunette sucked her lips between her teeth, nodding her head. "I got the story from Chloe, her teacher and the other student. They were waiting for the swings and when Chlo got on the other child's favorite one, he pushed her off. She then got up and followed him to the slide and pushed him, and Morgan joined in and hit him on the back."

Hotch felt his mind race as he was hit with the information. His little girls? "What did you do?"

"Chloe lost TV privileges for two weeks and Morgan can't use her toys for a couple of days." She bit her lip. "They both know not to do it again."

The older man nodded in agreement, knowing his princess' had to be punished. "How long are they suspended?"

Emily looked to her husband. "Three days."

"For pushing? In elementary school?"

"Yup," the brunette nodded.

Hotch ran a hand down his face, hearing his youngest child laugh along with Chloe only a room away. "She's never hit before."

Emily gave a small shrug, taking a step forward and wrapping her arms around her husband's waist and setting her chin to his strong shoulder. "She's going through a phase, Aaron. Jack tried to fight once or twice, remember?"

The older man tried not to chuckle. "He tried to hit Reid, Emily. He didn't even do that much damage."

Emily grinned into her husband's warm neck. "I know, surprising right? Our little Jack was pretty tough at eight years old." She pressed a kiss to the older man's skin before pulling away and patting his chest. "Do you want any tea or coffee? Something? I need something to calm me," she huffed.

"Sounds good."

Taking two mugs from the cupboard, she nodded to her husband. "I'm gonna go and ask the girls if they want some milk." She set down the cups and started towards the living room when a crash made her pause, her eyes widening. "Girls?"

"Mommy!"

Both Emily and Hotch went running to the living room, their hearts stopping at the sight of their little girl on the ground.

Chloe looked to her parents with scared eyes. "I didn't do anything!" Her face reddened as her pants grew louder. "She just fell down."

Emily rushed over to her youngest and dropped to her knees, picking up the spasming girl in her arms. "Baby? Morgan can you hear me?" Tears gathered in her eyes as she watched her daughter's eyes roll back. "Morgan?"

Hotch ran over to the wall and grabbed the phone. "It's a seizure; she's having a seizure, Em."

The brunette woman let out a cry as she tapped at her little girl's cheeks, rocking her youngest one as she heard her husband's voice and Chloe's cries in the background. "Come on Morgie, come back to mommy, sweetie." She held the brunette close to her, her heart wrenching as Morgan wracked in her hold. "Tell me what to do. Please," she sobbed, "just tell me what to do."


	2. Chapter 2

Chloe looked up to her mother, feeling her hand tighten around hers as the clock on the wall continued to tick. They had been waiting for over three hours now, and the ten year old could see the brunette mother's tears still flowing, new tracks running over the ones that had previously dried. "Mom? She's gonna be ok, right?"

The chocolate eyed woman quickly brought herself back to reality at the sound of her eldest girl's trembling voice. She gave the most comforting smile she could muster and held her daughter's hand even tighter, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "She's gonna be just fine, baby." She winked. "You think something this tiny is going to stop strong little Morgan?"

Chloe's eyes watered. "It didn't look tiny, mommy."

Jack looked up from his hands. "What exactly happened anyway?"

"Morgan said she could fit three whole apple slices in her mouth and I said nuh uh, and so she did it. She got really happy and when she chewed all the apples she started laughing and jumping," she sniffled. "Then she just fell down."

The mother of three pressed a warm kiss to Chloe's forehead. "It's alright baby, don't cry."

Hotch sighed, rubbing his hands down his face. "Where is her docctor? He said he'd be back soon, didn't he?"

Emily looked to her husband. "That was only an hour ago, Aaron. He'll be back."

"But how long?" Hotch looked to the younger woman with a distressed glance. "You remember when Jack had to get his appendix taken out? You said that the longer it takes, the better the outcome."

The brunette smiled gently to the Unit Chief. "Exactly."

A blue eyed man came walking down the hall, quickly seeking out the familiar dark haired bunch in the waiting room. "Hotchner?"

Hotch stood immediately from his seat. "How is she? What exactly happened?"

The neurologist looked to the family with a small smile, his clipboard in his hand. "Morgan is alright. I had to run an EEG to get a look at the electrical activity of her brain, and from what I've found I can tell that what happened was a generalized seizure."

Emily shook her head, holding her children close to her sides. "What does that mean?"

"A generalized seizure is when the seizure occurs in every section of the brain, not just one particular section. That's what made her entire body convulse instead of just an arm or a leg."

The brunette father looked to the older man. "Is she ok?"

The doctor quickly nodded his head. "She's just fine. Mrs. Hotchner here told me that the seizure lasted maybe four or five minutes which is a bit long, but she immediately regained consciousness once in the ambulance." He gave a reassuring smile. "I want to keep her over night because this was her first seizure, and if she's stable throughout the night then she can get home by noon tomorrow."

Chloe squeezed her mother's hand. "She's ok?"

Emily grinned down to the ten year old. "Told ya', kiddo. Morgie's gonna be back to normal in no time."

Not two weeks had gone by when Morgan had suffered her second seizure. Emily had arrived at the elementary school with Jack to pick up her daughters from their after school study sessions, and the little girl had collapsed outside the building doors.

Immediately taking her back to the hospital, Emily and her children waited in the same exact seats they had taken during their first visit, waiting for news about the little girl.

Morgan Hotchner had been diagnosed as an epileptic.


	3. Chapter 3

Morgan bit down into her bottom lip as she looked up to her mother, gripping the glass of water she had been given. "Does it taste icky, mommy?"

The brunette mother shook her head, twisting the cap of the new medicine bottle. "No baby, it won't taste that bad. Remember when you were in the hospital? Did it taste bad then?"

Morgan let out a giggle. "It went through my arm mommy, not my mouth!"

Emily gasped, looking down to her little girl. "Oh that's right!" She gently smacked herself on the head, earning a laugh from her youngest child. "How could I forget that?"

"I don't know!"

The ivory woman smiled gently as she kneeled before her daughter and handed her the small pill. "Here you go."

Morgan quickly gulped down the water as soon as the pill hit her tongue.

Emily took the empty glass from Morgan's small hands, proud she had successfully swallowed a pill for the second time in her life. "Very good, baby."

"Mommy?" The brown eyed girl frowned, wiping her hand over her mouth to dry it. "What was that?"

"The medicine is called Carbamazepine, Morgie. People take it for epilepsy."

Morgan nodded. "Like me?"

Emily cast her eyes down to her daughter, biting her lip to hold in her sigh as she ran her fingers through her daughter's silky hair. "Just like you, Morgie."

The little girl grinned before skipping off in search of her older brother.

Emily let out a breath and wiped away a small tear that threatened to fall from her eye. Why did her baby have to be cursed with such an illness? And so young too. It just wasn't fair.

The brown eyed woman quickly turned out the bathroom light and made her way to the kitchen, putting the glass her daughter had drunken from into the dishwasher.

"Babe?"

Emily looked up from the dishwasher, watching as her husband came down the stairs. "In here."

Hotch walked over into the kitchen and pressed a warm kiss to his wife's forehead. "How'd she do? Did she swallow it right?"

"Perfectly."

The older man grinned. "She forced Jack to play barbies with her," he chuckled. "They're in his room using his desk chair as a carnival ride for the dolls."

Emily smiled gently to her husband. "It's good she's so young," she whispered, "being able to just forget." She looked up to the Unit Chief. "Just like that."

"She's going to be ok, Em."

Emily sighed before she sat herself up on the granite counter. "I know," she nodded, "I do know that. It's just..." The brunette woman felt herself shaking her head, tears welling in her eyes. "This wasn't supposed to happen. Not to our baby."

Hotch took a step forward, wrapping his wife up in his strong arms. "She is still our perfect little girl, sweetheart. She always will be."

"It's just not fair, you know?" She sniffled as she lay her chin on her husband's shoulder. "Now she has to live with this her entire life and try to manage it as best she can. But what if she's alone and she has a seizure? Who's gonna be there to get her to the hospital, huh?"

The father of three pulled back, holding tight onto the brunette's arms. "Hey now, don't think that way. We will always be there and nothing will happen as long as she's kept on her medicine."

"Daddy? Mommy?"

The couple turned their attention to the voice of their youngest, watching a she wobbled down the steps. "What's wrong Morgie?"

Jack helped his little sister over to the kitchen. "She said she feels dizzy."

Emily gently nodded her head, letting her husband help her slide back down to the ground. "Side effect of the Carbamazepine."

The Unit Chief walked over to his daughter and lifted her up into his arms. "You feeling bad, Morgie?"

Morgan pouted, nodding into her father's shoulder.

"Why don't we take a nap, huh? Just me and you up in me and mommy's big bed?"

The young girl held a hand to the side of her head. "Ok daddy."

Emily waved to her little girl as her husband carried her upstairs. "You have a good nap, ok? No tickle fights with daddy this time."

"Ok mommy."

Jack looked to his mother, watching as she closed the dishwasher door. "Mom?"

Emily felt her heart break when she saw the tears in her son's eyes, and she quickly stepped forward. "Honey?"

"She's gonna be ok, right? She's not gonna die?"

"Oh sweetheart." The mother of three let out a small cry as she took her son into a bone crushing hug, rubbing her hand soothingly up and down his shaking back. "She is not going to die, do you hear me? She is staying right here with us." She pulled back, wiping both of their tears away with the tips of her fingers. "Why don't we go up and nap with Morgan and dad?"

Jack quickly shook his head, standing straight. "Mom I'm too old for that."

Emily bit her lip. "Yeah you're right," she dismissed. "You're definitely too old for that, how could I forget?" She stood up straight. "I'll just go get Chloe then."

As his mother walked away, the teenager glanced longly at the stairs. He wanted to go see his sister. Jack quickly made his way up the stairs and over to his parents bedroom door, not bothering to knock before peeking his head in.

The mother of three pat the seat beside her. "Come on, hon." She kept her tears at bay once he laid down and finally snuggled in between her and Chloe, wrapping her arms around them.


	4. Chapter 4

The Hotchner parents cuddled up on the cold park bench, watching as their children played in the grass before them. Morgan had begged to go to the park after being cooped up in either the house or her schoolroom, and the adults just couldn't say no.

Morgan glanced up to her brunette mother. "Mommy?"

Emily turned her head so fast that her husband's needy lips pressed against her cheek. "Yes sweetheart?" she smiled.

"Can I play tag now?"

The mother of three let out a small sigh, glancing over to the playground a couple yards away. "I don't know, Morgie."

Morgan gave her best puppy dog pout, her cute little bottom lip sticking out. "Mommy pleeeeaase?"

"Darling you know that it's dangerous for you to be running around."

Hotch pulled his wife closer into his side, glancing down to the younger of his two daughters. "You know what, Em? What if the kids all played slow motion tag and walk the slowest they can?" He shared a smirk with Morgan. "No running, no jostling whatsoever."

Emily glowered at her husband. "Aaron..."

"What honey? No running gives her a lesser chance of having a seizure."

The brunette held in her sigh before nodding her head to the young ebony haired girl, forcing herself to give a smile. "Ok baby. Be very careful."

Morgan let out an excited squeal before jumping up and grabbing her sister's hand. "Come on Chloe!"

"Morgan!" The mother of three's eyes widened. "I said no jostling, that means no jumping. Do you get me?"

The five year old sulked. "I'm sorry mommy."

Hotch shook his head at the younger woman, waiting until his kids were far enough away so they couldn't hear him. "Emily what are you doing?"

"What are you talking about?" Emily glared at her husband. "I told her no jostling. It's bad for her head." She cast her eyes towards her three children near the playground.

Hotch looked wide eyed to the younger woman. "You're not just protecting her here, Emily. You're smothering her."

The brunette woman let her jaw drop. "I'm sorry?"

"You don't let her out of the house, none of her friends are allowed to sleep over because you've put her on such a strict schedule and you barely let her play anymore." Hotch pointed towards his daughter. "A child should not have to beg their parents to play."

Emily felt tears beginning to well, the cold breeze blowing past her drying her eyes. "I'm smothering her? I was trying to prevent my baby from having another episode."

The father of three glared. "What you're doing is depriving her, and that's the exact opposite of what a mother should be doing."

Emily's tears barely hit her cheeks before the wind blew them away, her heart breaking as she watched her husband walk off.


	5. Chapter 5

The brown eyed mother let out a shaky sigh, looking up into the medicine cabinet's mirror before her and quickly wiping her tears. Her children couldn't know she was crying. Especially over her little one's new condition. It had been what? Two months, and her husband was still undermining her decisions for Morgan to stay at home where she knew she would be safe, and where she knew she'd have quickest access to the help she needed.

Emily splashed some cold water on her face before dabbing it dry with her favorite plush towel, running her fingers through her hair before walking out of the bathroom. She needed to go and wrap her husband's present for his birthday.

"Mommy!"

The brunette smiled down to her youngest as she can running over to her. "Hey baby girl."

Morgan looked up to her mother, her hand reaching out to hold hers. "Me and Jack and Chlo Chlo wanna talk with you please."

Emily felt herself frown as she was led into the living room. "Talk to me about what?" Her features softened when her daughter made her sit just beside her husband on their couch. "Hey," she nodded.

Hotch smiled gently to his wife. "Hi. Bathroom break go ok?"

Emily's head quickly shook. "What are you talking about?"

The older man sat a bit closer to the brunette woman beside him, wiping his thumb across her cheek to rid her of her last salty tear. "Didn't get it all."

"I'm fine," she promised.

Hotch gave a small nod, taking the younger woman's hand in hers. "I'm sorry."

Emily rolled her lips into her mouth, nodding in agreement. "I'm sorry too, Aaron."

The middle child quickly clapped her hands together, getting the attention of both her brunette parents. "Attention please! Quiet in the audience!"

Both parents shared a small smile before the looked to their children, sitting side by side.

Jack smiled to his parents, bringing both of his sisters to his sides before looking down to the crumpled sheet of paper in his hand. "Epilepsy, by Jack, Chloe and Morgan Hotchner."

Emily felt herself gulp.

"Epilepsy is a set of neurological disorders characterised by seizures." The teenager set his hand gently on his youngest sister's head. This disorder is normally caused by an excessive disorderly discharge of cortical nerve cells in the brain and can range from clinically undetectable to convulsions." He turned to Chloe and nodded. "Demonstration please."

The brunette first gave a small twinge of the arm before having her entire body shake.

Jack smiled. "Thank you. As I was saying, the seizures caused by the excessive discharge can either be undetectable to severe. In many cases, the cause of someone's epileptic seizures cannot be detected," he nodded to his baby sister, "just like our youngest one here, Morgan."

Morgan waved to her parents with a grin. "Hi!"

The adults on the couch smiled and waved back to their daughter. "Hi there honey."

"Epilepsy can easily treated and controlled with medication, and for Morgan here, this is what is done. But in more serious cases, brain surgery must be considered as an option." The teenager looked up to his parents. "This presentation, beautifully presented by the Hotchner children if we do say so ourselves, has been done to show our parents, you two, that what our little sister has is not the worst of cases and we know that she will be ok with playing and running just like all the other kids in the world. We think that she deserves to play just like the rest of us because we know that she won't have an attack." The three children quickly took each other's hands and bowed. "And for that, I thank you," Jack smiled.

Morgan nodded quickly. "Thank you!"

Emily bit her lip, feeling everyone's eyes on her. She gave a quick wave of the hand so all three kids came up to the couch. "You did all that research?"

The teen grinned. "Curtosy of the most useful device ever," he nodded, sharing a look with his father. "Internet."

Emily looked to her youngest, leaning forward and taking her little hands in hers. "You know I don't want you to be isolated from everyone else, I'm just trying to be very careful with you, honey."

Morgan jumped up into her mother's lap and wrapped her arms around her neck. "I can be careful mommy."

"Yeah?" The ivory mother's eyes stung at the determined nod of the head her daughter gave her. "Ok then. If you be extra careful, then you can play on the playground with your friends. Deal?"

The brunette smiled up to her mother, squeezing her tight and pressing her little lips to the older woman's cheek. "I love you mommy."

Emily grinned into her daughter's hair, feeling her husband's arm wrap around her slender waist. "I love you too, pumpkin."


End file.
